We took our time and left mid morning today heading southwest toward Fontvielle. It is a typical small Provencal village–all of the buildings are plastered various light shades of ocher and the streets through town are tiny. The site to see there was Alphonse Daudet’s windmill. He was a French author who famously wrote “Lettres de Mon Moulin” (Letters from my Windmill in English), a collection of short stories. The windmill was built in 1815 and continued to grind wheat until WWI when most of the men in the village were drafted and the wheat was requisitioned.
Next stop…Tarascon…We arrived in the center of town just as the market was closing so we walked through what was left but left hungry! Lunch was at Bistro de la Place and after lunch we found Chateau de Tarascon. Legend has it that the hybrid-dragon-like tarasque terrorized the area before Saint Martha “tamed it through a charm of hymns and prayers.” This is an artist’s interpretation of the monster.
On the banks of the Rhone River, Chateau de Tarascon is a fortress from the early 15th century and is considered one of the most beautiful medieval castles in Europe.
It is beautifully well preserved. We toured the castle and enjoyed the restored rooms throughout the castle and the view from the rooftop terrace.
Clay was swallowed by the fireplace in the banquet room (ignore the carpet, a modern addition).
Even the gargoyles are in remarkably good shape. On another note, we were surprised to see that each of the bed chambers we toured had an indoor toilet that emptied into the Rhone River. After climbing down the 8ish stories on a tiny stairway we browsed the gift shop and continued on our visit of close by small towns. Our final village was Beaucaire and we simply drove through the tiny streets.
Our trip home was uneventful and we stopped at Maussane at a beautiful grocery store there for a few essentials.
Bon nuit!
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